Need new axles - quick question

[recklessspyder]

Just for pricing, my Indy is charging me "a little over $600" for parts and labor. He quoted me $150 each for the axles...so leave the rest for labor.

[jgold47]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

jgold, when he says "both axles are shot", what does that mean?

Because I'll be honest, unless the boot is split, grease is spewed everywhere, and the CV joint is clicking, I think your mechanic is full of shit.

If the boots have cracks but haven't split yet, just pay your indy to reboot the outer joints with GKN boot kits for $20 a side, then you will actually keep your Genuine, high quality GKN axles going for another 100k miles.

My .02, but yes I agree with most above, I don't screw with Chinese axles considering the tolerances and weight of our E53's

Both are shot - as in boots ripped, and the passenger side is already clicking. Not loud enough to hear inside the car, but when the windows are down and I'm going under a bridge I can hear it.

I assumed (wrong so, I suppose) that with the X being a relatively low production car, and not that old, that most of the reman axles would be OEM rebuilds. I'll re-think this. If I didnt have a family driving trip to toronto next month, I'd just let them ride until A) I have more money and B) they get really bad

[axgordon]

I have a consistently good experience with "A1-Cordone" rebuild parts.
I installed both rebuild axles back in 2010 with no issues. Today, 75k miles later, they still looks and perform great. Got them from NAPA store.
Also, replaced steering racks on both of my X5s using "A1-Cordon" rebuild units from Partsgeek.com. No issues 40k miles later. The reason I replaced them - really tired of heavy steering, so I retrofitted units with servotronic option. Relatively simple mod making day and night difference in driving experience.

[Ricky Bobby]

^axgordon, yes I have heard that the A1 Cardone remans are actually using OE cores. Again, probably something you'll have to inspect in the store. You can try Cardone Select (new) from RockAuto for $56 per side, but again, IMO new Chinese axles are not something I'd personally gamble on.

And jgold, thanks for clarifying, I did not know they were both that bad, I'm guessing you have a bit of grease to clean up in there as well? If you were closer to me I'd tell you to get the parts and bring them over and I'd help you out with DIY labor.

[jgold47]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

^axgordon, yes I have heard that the A1 Cardone remans are actually using OE cores. Again, probably something you'll have to inspect in the store. You can try Cardone Select (new) from RockAuto for $56 per side, but again, IMO new Chinese axles are not something I'd personally gamble on.

And jgold, thanks for clarifying, I did not know they were both that bad, I'm guessing you have a bit of grease to clean up in there as well? If you were closer to me I'd tell you to get the parts and bring them over and I'd help you out with DIY labor.

Yeah - in my pre 18 month old days, I would have done these myself, no problem. I dont really like doing suspension work (I almost lost it last year replacing rear control arms and upgrading my sway), but I would have given it a go. Now, I've got about 2-3 hours tops to get anything done, and my wife is generally worthless (when it comes to working on cars). I'm ok farming this one out, just not feeling another 800 bill, especially since I just dropped 1K on those new wheels and tires. That said, I'm all freaked out about taking to a shop since I dont want them to mess up the wheels. Maybe I'll swap the fronts back out, then take it in....

[CharlieHustleX5]

I would stay away from New China axles and chain store remans if at all possible. If one axle is still salvageable by just cleaning it up and slipping on a new boot, I would do so. Replace the other with an EMPI replacement, quality reman axle, or pick up a good used OEM one and replace the boots.

Labor wise, it's not rocket science to service an axle on these cars as long as you follow procedure. It's really your decision who you let do the work. Not sure how much you save compared to an independant specialist, but its better to do the job once the right way. It would be a headache to have the job fail the first time and damage additional parts that were initially working fine.

[srmmmm]

I have 217,000 miles on OEM rebuilds, but I don't recall the name of the remanufacturer. They were about $380 each in 2006. Now I just make sure to replace the outer boots at the first sign of grease on the wheels and everything is fine.

2002 X5 280,250 miles
2004 325i 120,000 miles

[synct]

I'm on my 3rd set of Axels. I bought the cheap replacement Chinese ones and they lasted 2 years. The boots went and then the axels. I got them from FCP, which covered them under their lifetime warranty, but the labor to replace the third pair was $500! If I bought better the first time, I would have saved! They won't cover any labor.
I just noticed that the boots are going. Going to replace those quick! Major reason for axel failure is lack of lube which leaks out when boots broken.

[Ricky Bobby]

^Lol, I always thought this about "lifetime warranty" replacement parts. Do you really want a lifetime warranty on a $50 axle when you know it costs $300 a side to replace, haha.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by trader4

$380 each, just for the part? For ~$280 you can get brand new GKN.

It was in November of 2006, and I thought it was high also because I had paid $180 per axle for our Mazda 626 a couple years earlier. But I called several sources myself and confirmed my service shop's statement that the X5 axles were hard to find at the time. I suppose it might have been high, but I haven't had any trouble with them since installation, so I can live with it.

2002 X5 2.0 280,250 miles
2004 325i 120,000 miles